Though the NHL was quick to shut down reports the league had made a decision on expansion Monday, the general managers are expected to discuss an important part of that process at meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning March 14.
"They're going to talk about the expansion draft rules," Pierre LeBrun reported during TSN's "Insider Trading" segment on Tuesday.
"I'm not sure that this is an issue that's making GMs lose sleep at night. More than that, they want to get an idea of how this might work. If the NHL expands, the league is expected to give them a general parameter of how an expansion draft might look, even though that's not finalized yet."
The league has not held an expansion draft since 2000, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the league. At that time, teams were allowed to protect either one goalie, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goalies, three defensemen, and seven forwards.
Then-recent league additions the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers were given full protection for their rosters during that draft.
Las Vegas and Quebec City are the two candidates currently going through the NHL's formal expansion process.
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